Zarthani

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The Zarthani are a fictional group of Indo-Aryans who settled in North America in H. Beam Piper's book Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen. They speak an early Greek dialect and create a large civilization in the Atlantic coast of North America.

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[edit] Early migrations

A group of Indo-Aryans, who called themselves the Ros-Zarthani, moved east into Asia (the Cold Lands) instead of south and west into Anatolia and the Balkans. They crossed the Pacific Ocean and settled in the Pacific Northwest, where they created a tribal civilization. Some of these people then moved south along the coast where they defeated the native tribes and created multiple small city-states. The southern city states and the northern tribes soon began to trade with each other.

[edit] Middle and late migrations

A thousand years after the arrival of the Ros-Zarthani, a race of early Germanic language speakers, the Urgothi, arrived. As the coast was well settled and well defended, the Urgothi moved east and south into the Sea of Grass (the Great Plains) and to near the Great River (the Mississippi River). The Urgothi created the Middle Kingdoms, including Grefftscharr. Eventually, iron was discovered and resulted in a huge amount of trade over the Iron Trail.

Six hundred years before Kalvan arrived in Hostigos, a war between the north and south city-states caused the coastal civilization to fall apart. Thousands of Zarthani began to head across the Iron Trail. King Chaldorec of one of the Middle Kingdoms decided to have the invaders move to the Atlantic coast, to act as a buffer against the Iroquois Alliance along the coast. Soon the Zarthani and the Iroquois (called the Eastern Ruthani or Redmen) were embroiled in a century long war that ended with the Ruthani survivors fleeing to Newfoundland and Labrador.

[edit] The Great Kingdoms

The Zarthani soon spread throughout the coast, creating the Great Kingdoms of Hos-Ktemnos, Hos-Harphax, Hos-Agrys, and Hos-Zygros. Later on, the kingdom of Hos-Bletha would split away from Hos-Ktemnos. After the arrival of Kalvan, a new Great Kingdom of Hos-Hostigos was formed. Kalvan would later recognize the Middle Kingdom of Rathon as the Great Kingdom of Hos-Rathon.

[edit] References